Tea

The Beginnings of Tea Fragrances

In the perfume industry, tea fragrances began in 1992 with Bulgari’s Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert, created by Jean-Claude Ellena. What was revolutionary about this fragrance was that it combined β-ionone (in Japanese), which for the preceding century had signified only the scent of violet (in Japanese), with Hedione (in Japanese) to create a scent that evoked tea. (Although the name refers to green tea, it was actually inspired by Darjeeling tea, creating an abstract impression of tea.) In other words, the first tea perfume was born from a combination of synthetic fragrance materials.

“There is one thing I want you to know: I created the tea note without smelling tea. My story about Mariage came afterward. Marketing needs a story, so I went to Mariage and, of course, smelled everything. I built the whole story on top of the tea note.

Jean-Claude Ellena (in Japanese)

Differences Between Teas

Beginning with Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert, tea became a trend in the perfume industry, and many different teas appeared. Yet all tea originally comes from the leaves of the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis. The differences arise through processing methods and fermentation.

What Does It Smell Like in Perfume?

A tea note is not the name of a single fragrance material, but a complex scent assembled to express such qualities as green tea leaves, steam, astringency, floral fragrance, and roasted aromas. The aroma of Camellia sinensis tea itself is composed of numerous volatile compounds. Jasmal is an individual synthetic molecule reminiscent of tea and jasmine. Mate absolute is a natural extract obtained from a different plant, Ilex paraguariensis, and adds facets of green tea leaves, hay, and tobacco. Neither is the same as tea leaves themselves or a finished tea accord.

White Tea

White tea is made with almost no fermentation. Young buds are harvested just before they open, while the tea leaves still have fine white hairs; processing consists only of withering and drying them. It is a healthy tea with exceptionally high nutritional value. However, a 2008 study of white, green, and black teas measured 14–61 mg of caffeine per serving (6 or 8 fluid ounces), with no consistent trend by tea type. Among the highest grades of white tea is Baihao Yinzhen, or Silver Needle, produced in China’s Fujian Province. Jo Malone’s Rare Teas collection includes Silver Needle Tea, which actually uses this tea.

Green Tea

Known as an unfermented tea, green tea is made by heating the picked leaves to prevent fermentation. The harvested leaves are steamed, rolled and crushed, and then dried.

Oolong Tea

Known as a semi-fermented tea, oolong is made by heating the harvested leaves partway through fermentation to stop the process. In China, it is also called qingcha, or blue-green tea.

Black Tea

This is tea made by fermenting the leaves; pu-erh is one type of Chinese dark tea. In English, “black tea” generally also refers to what Japanese calls kōcha. Assam, Darjeeling, and Ceylon are types of black tea.

Flavored Tea

This is tea flavored with flower petals, spices, or essential oils. For example, black tea + bergamot (in Japanese) = Earl Grey tea. Jasmine (in Japanese) and osmanthus (in Japanese) are also often used as flavorings.